News

Investors Urged to Vet Private Credit Managers After ASIC’s ‘more failures’ Warning

23 Apr 2025

Investors in private credit funds are being warned to closely scrutinise the valuation methodologies being used by managers operating in the booming sector, amid growing expectations of an uptick in troubled loans as the broader economy falters. Private credit funds managed $148.6 billion at the end of 2024, according to ASIC, up 161% over the...

Australia ‘well placed’ Despite Escalating Trade War Between US and China

17 Apr 2025

Koda Capital Chief Economist Brigette Leckie claims that despite the trade war between the US and China, Australia is “well placed”. “We could see … core goods deflation – lower, lower prices,” Ms Leckie told Sky News Business Editor Ross Greenwood. “We [Australia] are again well placed.” Watch more videos here: Sky News 

Breaking the Mould

14 Apr 2025

Koda Capital chief executive and founding partner Paul Heath grew up a stone’s throw from the company’s chair Steve Tucker in Perth. Their eventual collaboration gave rise to one of Australia’s premier independent wealth management firms. Andrew McKean writes. Paul Heath began his career as a trainee accountant at CSR’s Mosman Park sugar refinery, but...

Five Retirees and Semi-Retirees on How They’re Dealing with Trumpmoil

11 Apr 2025

The wildest week of market moves since the pandemic sparked panic around the world with everyone from world leaders to hedge fund boss Bill Ackman dropping their bundle and screaming after Donald Trump smashed the stock and bond markets and then, seemingly, rebuilt them in a minute. But one group sailed through the Trump turmoil....

Koda Lures Wealthy Australians with Offbeat Private Assets

06 Apr 2025

Australia’s rich are turning to obscure corners of private assets such as lobster-catching licences as they seek investments where returns are less volatile than public markets. Sydney-based Koda Capital, one of the country’s largest independent wealth advisors, which has grown to managing A$15 billion ($9.4 billion) from its founding a decade ago, is expanding the...

‘Europe is finally reawakening’: Brigette Leckie on EU markets during US tariffs

20 Mar 2025

Koda Capital Chief Economist Brigette Leckie claims Europe is “finally reawakening” from “fiscal rectitude to fiscal expansion”. She also commented on European markets in comparison to the US economy, claiming Europe “works well in a crisis,” irrespective of Trumpian economic policy. “Europe looks like it’s actually starting to strengthen … you got to look at...

This is what a $5 million retirement budget looks like

20 Mar 2025

How much money do you need in retirement? It’s a difficult question, and for many people, the answer is along the lines of “a whole lot more than I have right now”. The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia publishes a retirement “standard” that indicates a home-owning couple will need a lump sum of $690,000...

What the ATO wants to know about your family’s succession plan

11 Feb 2025

“Many business owners underestimate the complexity of succession planning. Without a clear strategy, families can face unexpected tax liabilities and governance challenges,” says Matt Donat in a recent article in the Australian Financial Review. A decade or so ago, entities in the Moloney family group – which operates a Victorian company called Mt Noorat Freighters...

11 Koda Advisers in Australia’s 2024 Top 150

20 Nov 2024

Today US financial investment publication Barron’s, in partnership with The Australian’s business magazine The Deal, released their rankings of Australia’s Top 150 Financial Advisers. These rankings are based on a comprehensive national survey and provide a unique guide to the top practitioners in the industry. The formula used to calculate the rankings takes into account...

Financial Advisers Find New Niche Breaking Away from the Pack

20 Nov 2024

“Koda is left standing as the only independent Australian offering which operates at scale. We’ve had strong and consistent growth since our founding 10 years ago, and we are even more excited about the opportunity ahead of us,” Steve Tucker says in an article in The Australian. Australia’s high net worth financial advisory business will...

‘Don’t leave gaps in the defence’ amidst simmering market uncertainty: Panel

21 Aug 2024

There’s no crisis yet, but private wealth CIOs and asset consultants are keeping a close eye on markets after their sudden August selloff. Their advice: stay nimble, stay unconstrained, and look out for “the unbelievable opportunity to invest in a dislocation”. The recent sharp, sudden fall in markets in August has been interpreted by some...

Koda Capital: ACF’s new investment advisors

20 Aug 2024

Australian Communities Foundation (ACF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Koda Capital as the new investment manager for our 100 per cent responsibly invested portfolio. As Australia’s largest independent wealth management firm, Koda manages over $12 billion of client assets, including $3 billion for non-profit and philanthropic clients. The announcement comes after a rigorous...

How the rich are decarbonising their portfolios

13 Aug 2024

Wind and solar may have disappointed, but wealth managers see opportunity in areas such as waste management and disability housing. Poor performance, greenwashing scandals and political backlash in the US appear to have dented ESG fervour among investors globally. There was a piercing local blow when Mercer Super was forced to apologise for falsely claiming its “Sustainable...

The worst way to give your kids money, according to banks

12 Jul 2024

Lenders will cut loan sizes if there is family money involved. Tim and Catherine are borrowing money from family to buy their first home. What they don’t realise is if Catherine’s parents loan them $100,000, it will cut their borrowing power from the banks by $270,000. This is because the bank will factor in the...

Leading adviser team joins Koda Capital

27 May 2024

High-net-worth advice firm Koda Capital has poached three advisers from rival JBWere, who together spoke for nearly $1 billion in client assets. Street Talk understands Simon Talbot, Elizabeth Watson and Caitlin Laffey have tendered their resignations at the NAB-owned wealth management group and are due to resurface in Koda Capital’s Melbourne office in July. Talbot...

Koda Wins ‘Best for Sustainability’ in Prestigious Euromoney Awards

22 Mar 2024

In the recently released Euromoney 2024 Private Banking Awards, Koda Capital was named ‘Best for Sustainability’. This is the second year in a row that Koda has won this award, and this recognition reflects the investment Koda has made in its capability and offering in this space. The Private Banking Awards for 2024 have been...

Koda’s ‘Pathway to Partnership’ Built to Retain Talent

09 Jan 2024

The greatest risk for advice practices bringing on Professional Year advisers is making an investment in non-revenue generating employees who then become attractive to recruiters for other firms once they finish their training commitments. But one of the country’s leading wealth firms, Koda Capital, believes it has found a way to create an attractive career...

Koda Capital Launches the Koda Endowment

31 Oct 2023

At Koda, we’ve always believed in doing things differently and that our work in the community is a centerpiece of our culture. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce the launch of the Koda Endowment, a new and innovative approach to corporate philanthropy. The Koda Endowment is empowering our people to follow their philanthropic passions and...

10 Koda Advisers in Australia’s 2023 Top 100

21 Sep 2023

Today US financial investment publication Barron’s, in partnership with The Australian’s business magazine The Deal, released their rankings of Australia’s Top 100 Financial Advisers. The rankings are based on a comprehensive national survey. This list offers clients and advisers a unique guide to the leading practitioners in the sector. The formula used to calculate the...

2023 Top 100 Financial Advisers: Frank Macindoe, Koda Capital

21 Sep 2023

For Frank Macindoe, the challenge in long-term investing is to ignore the noise and determine the underlying trends. The adviser and partner at Koda Capital in Sydney takes a considered, multiyear investment approach that aims to minimise volatility while achieving superior returns. “I try not to be distracted by the short term, ” he says....

2023 Top 100 Financial Advisers: Matthew Donat, Koda Capital

21 Sep 2023

The clients who come to Melbourne-based Koda Capital adviser and partner Matt Donat often require more than just investment advice. Most are self-made business people on the brink of selling their stake, and they need financial arrangements that can build resilient, long-term results. “Clients who have a liquidity event present to us with $10 million,...

The Koda Capital Board supports the Voice to Parliament

30 Aug 2023

The Koda Capital Board has released the following statement in support for the Voice to Parliament: The need to embed reconciliation with First Nations peoples has become an important aspect of Australia’s social, cultural and economic fabric. It is essential that individuals, organisations and governments play their part in creating a more equitable society that...

Koda Wins ‘Best for ESG Investing’ in Prestigious Euromoney Awards

03 Apr 2023

In the recently released Euromoney 2023 Private Banking Awards, Koda Capital was named ‘Best for ESG Investing’ in Australia. The Private Banking Awards for 2023 have been researched and managed by Euromoney’s research team and external judges, and have also incorporated editorial advice. Full results and more details on the awards can be seen at...

Koda finds value in litigation finance, insurance-linked securities

24 Mar 2023

Volatility in listed equities has led the wealth manager to different sources of returns. Already heavily defensively positioned, Koda Capital has been adding more defensive exposures to income diversifiers over the past six to 18 months as volatility continues to rock equities. Jonathan Ayres, managing partner at Koda, said the $10bn wealth manager had been...

Financial advice reforms must cut red tape: Koda Capital

31 Oct 2022

Any regulatory overhaul of the battered financial advice industry must focus on reducing red tape and getting the implementation right, or policymakers risk repeating mistakes of the past. That’s the view of financial advice firm Koda Capital, which supports some aspects of proposed reforms in the Quality of Advice Review, but wants a more focused...

Redwood Wealth Alliance joins Koda Capital

17 Oct 2022

Koda Capital (Koda), a leading independent financial advice firm for high-net-worth clients and not-for-profits today announced that it is merging with Redwood Wealth Alliance (Redwood) in Perth, Western Australia. Koda has successfully grown to be the leading independent wealth management business in Australia with 46 Partners, including 38 advisers managing in excess of $10bn of...

9 Koda Advisers in Australia’s 2022 Top 100

23 Sep 2022

Today US financial investment publication Barron’s, in partnership with The Australian’s business magazine The Deal, released their rankings of Australia’s Top 100 Financial Advisers. The rankings are based on an exhaustive national survey. This list offers clients and advisers a unique guide to the leading practitioners in the sector. The formula used to calculate the ranking...

Koda Capital Welcomes Emigrant Partners as a Minority Strategic Investor

12 May 2022

Koda Capital welcomes Emigrant Partners as a minority strategic investor to support the next phase of growth, commitment to partner ownership and independent advice model Koda Capital (“Koda”), a leading independent financial advice firm for high-net-worth clients today announced that Emigrant Partners, the US-based capital and advice partner, will become a strategic minority investor in...

Koda Capital Achieves Top Ten Ranking In AFR’s 2022 Best Places to Work

27 Apr 2022

Today the Australian Financial Review, in partnership with leading Australian innovation consultancy Inventium, published the best places to work across Australia and New Zealand. The assessment behind the rankings was made up of an employee survey and a written submission, with questions relating to policies, practices and programs that exist within each nominated organisation to...

Scale By Independence: The Koda Capital Model

04 Aug 2021

As the CEO and co-founder of wholesale advice outfit Koda Capital, Paul Heath always had a “well-formed” views about the firm he wanted to create. Independence and client centricity were at the heart of the vision he shared with co-founder Steve Tucker. But while the two concepts are “fantastic marketing terms”, Heath had another use...

NSW Lockdown Brings Fresh Challenges For Employers

29 Jun 2021

Paul Heath, chief executive of independent wealth management firm Koda Capital, admits to “a little bit of eyeball rolling” when NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian put four local government areas into lockdown on Friday. Koda’s Sydney office is in the same building as a Fitness First gym, which was designated a hotspot a week earlier, so all 45...

8 Koda Advisers in Australia’s 2021 Top 100

18 Jun 2021

Today US financial investment publication Barron’s, in partnership with The Australian’s business magazine The Deal, released their rankings of Australia’s Top 100 Financial Advisers. The rankings are based on an exhaustive national survey. This list offers clients and advisers a unique guide to the leading practitioners in the sector. The formula used to calculate the ranking...

Koda Capital Achieves Top Ten Ranking In AFR’s 2021 Best Places to Work

20 Apr 2021

Today the Australian Financial Review, in partnership with leading Australian innovation consultancy Inventium, published the best places to work across Australia and New Zealand. The assessment behind the rankings was made up of an employee survey and a written submission, with questions relating to policies, practices and programs that exist within each nominated organisation to...

The New Giving

19 Mar 2021

The face of philanthropy is changing, as wealthy donors draw on values often inculcated in them as children and align themselves with like-minded organisations. For Cathie Reid, family involvement in philanthropic matters goes back to her childhood in Victoria. She didn’t quite know it then, but seeing the time that her family would devote to...

Three Questions for Frank Macindoe

18 Mar 2021

Frank Macindoe has been an adviser in private wealth management since 2002. Prior to joining Koda Capital as a partner and adviser in 2018, he worked at JBWere for 16 years. His early career began as a commercial lawyer in Melbourne, London and Sydney. Frank has considerable personal involvement with the not-for-profit sector and is...

Koda Capital Challenges Consensus And Warns Of ‘Fragile’ Recovery

05 Feb 2021

The $8bn boutique wealth manager Koda Capital says the apparent global economic recovery is “fragile at best” and the firm is not expecting a vaccine rollout, together with supportive government policies, to deliver a quick return to pre-COVID growth ­levels. In Koda’s latest quarterly briefing to clients, chief investment ­officer Brigette Leckie challenges the consensus...

Charities Dipping Into Their Reserves As Covid Hits Income

13 Dec 2020

Wealthy family charitable foundations have been dipping into their cash reserves to fund philanthropic causes as their income has been slashed by the COVID pandemic, providing a challenge to the traditional investment models used by the nation’s not-for-profit sector. Equity Trustees’ third annual Giving Review to be released this week reveals there were more than...

Seek Drama Highlights Investors’ China Dilemma

02 Nov 2020

China’s sharemarket is too big to ignore, but it’s not easy to access for local investors. One wealth firm has taken a boots-on-the-ground approach. Regardless of how Seek responds to a short seller’s attack focused on its investment in a Chinese classifieds giant on Monday, the episode is a reminder of an inherent challenge for...

Koda Capital Warns ASX Exposure In Super Amplifies Risk For Retirees

06 Sep 2020

Koda Capital Warns ASX Exposure In Super Amplifies Risk For Retirees Paul Heath, the chief executive of the $8bn boutique wealth manager Koda Capital, says the over-exposure of Australian investors to the local sharemarket through their superannuation funds is undermining the nation’s retirement system and unnecessarily amplifying risk for retirees. The former JBWere executive claimed...

9 Koda Advisers in Australia’s 2020 Top 100

26 Jun 2020

Today US financial investment publication Barron’s, in partnership with The Australian’s business magazine The Deal, released their rankings of Australia’s Top 100 Financial Advisers. The rankings are based on an exhaustive national survey. This list offers clients and advisers a unique guide to the leading practitioners in the sector. The formula used to calculate the ranking...

Bringing Objectivity To Financial Advice

26 Jun 2020

Koda Capital’s Frank Macindoe provides financial advice for some of the wealthier people in Australia as well as charities and not-for-profit organisations. He and others in his firm make their money by charging for financial advice. But Macindoe worries that the increasing regulation of the sector means that the cost of good financial advice is...

Vertical Integration No Virus Cure: Ex-MLC Boss

07 Apr 2020

“The reality is that in a time of crisis, people need quality financial advice more than ever before. The idea that this is the time we should return to a subsidised and conflicted system would seem to be regressive.” Large vertically integrated wealth managers may be seeking to take advantage of the coronavirus crisis to...

AFR 2020 Fast 100

23 Mar 2020

The Australian Financial Review today released the 2020 Fast 100 and Fast Starters lists. To be eligible for entry into the Fast 100, a business must have started trading on or before July 1, 2015, and have had turnover greater than $500,000 in 2015–2016. Koda Capital debuted on the Fast 100 list in the #46...

How Top Advisers Are Dealing With The Market Panic

14 Mar 2020

Rather than worrying about how bad things will get, the country’s top financial advisers are focused on the opportunities being thrown up.   The day that financial adviser Charles Moore of Koda Capital had been expecting for 11 years finally arrived this week with a sharemarket drop steep enough to enter the history books. Investors...

Koda Capital Founders’ Brotherly Love

11 Mar 2020

It’s been a challenging road for finance industry veterans Paul Heath and Steve Tucker, but there’s always time for mischief. Paul Heath and Steve Tucker are co-founders of independent wealth management firm Koda Capital, where Heath is CEO and Tucker is chairman. They spoke to AFR BOSS magazine about their working relationship. Paul Heath Steve...

Conflicted Fees Hollow Out Trust In Wealth Advice

29 Jan 2020

The integrity of the financial advice system is compromised by the loophole that pays advisers lucrative commissions for selling listed fund investments. Note: an abridged version of this paper was published in the AFR on 29 January 2020. The furore that has erupted over the revelation of a loophole that allows the use of selling fees to...

ASIC Warns Treasurer On Risky Funds

02 Jan 2020

On December 24, one week after becoming aware the Financial Review had received the confidential ASIC documents and 4½ months after Treasury received ASIC’s warnings, Mr Frydenberg wrote to Mr Shipton requesting an update. “I am sure you share my concern that ASIC’s analysis revealed some correlation between higher stamping fees and underperforming LICs,” Mr...

1 January Is A Moment Of Truth For The Wealth Industry

18 Dec 2019

The key question to consider is how can an adviser who is receiving a significant fee for selling a product be in a position to offer good advice to their client? The truth is, they can’t. For investors who poured over $900mln into the listed KKR Credit Income fund (KKC) during October, the opening weeks...

Voices Of Experience: Advice Legends Tell Their Stories

29 Nov 2019

Ultimately we are on the right path. The improvement in quality, the move to professionalism, the rise of the independent movement as the industry forms around the new structures that are going to suit the conditions and the community expectations. The below article is a two part series published on professionalplanner.com.au 29 Nov 2019 and 2...

Planners Urged To Forget The Past And Face The Future

28 Oct 2019

The post-royal commission landscape, regulatory change and a focus on higher educational standards will spur a “substantial exodus” of existing advisers from the industry in years ahead. Koda Capital chairman Steve Tucker says players in the battered financial advice industry risk having “no future” unless advisers and firms stop clinging to failed structures of the...

7 Koda Advisers in Australia’s 2019 Top 50

21 Jun 2019

Today US financial investment publication Barron’s, in partnership with The Australian’s business magazine The Deal, released their rankings of Australia’s Top 50 Financial Advisers. The rankings are based on an exhaustive national survey. This list offers clients and advisers a unique guide to the leading practitioners in the sector. The list included seven Koda Adviser Partners–which...

The Future Of Advice – Part two

29 Apr 2019

No longer will advisers keep product margins, it will be the adviser negotiating hard for fees and performance, for the client, against the investment manager. Professional Planner has tapped the brains of some of the industry’s best known and important thinkers to traverse four separate categories – advice (what the client sees), investment implementation &...

There Are Still Dangerous Loopholes In Financial Advice Rules

10 Apr 2019

LICs do not have enough institutional support to work well for mum and dad investors It would have been very hard for anyone involved in the financial services industry not to have felt some sense of shame as example after example of poor behaviour was methodically uncovered by the Royal Commission. It is no wonder...

Is The Super Cap Cramping Your Style?

23 Mar 2020

Limits on superannuation contributions and total balances mean that some can struggle to get as much money as they would like into their superannuation. For this group there are a number of extra options to build retirement income in a tax efficient way. Since July 1, 2017 superannuation savers have been limited to annual contribution...

Future Of Advice: Boutiques For Some, Robo-Plans For The Rest

16 Nov 2020

Koda Capital chief executive Paul Heath said the industry would fundamentally change following the royal commission, agreeing that “a model where advice is subsidised by products is finished”. He said there was a significant opportunity for technology to play a role in reducing compliance costs when assessing clients and preparing financial advice statements. Westpac chief...

Koda Wins Prestigious Euromoney Awards

06 Feb 2019

Euromoney today released the 2019 Private Banking and Wealth Management Survey results. Koda Capital debuted in the survey results and was ranked #1 in Philanthropic Advice as well as #1 in Succession Planning Advice and Trusts. Euromoney surveyed private banks and wealth managers across Australia to identify the firms that they consider to be their...

Bear Market Fears Don’t Stack Up

28 Nov 2018

I was particularly impressed with the report Frank Macindoe, an adviser and partner at Koda Capital, circulated during the panic. He pointed out that we should never be confident in short-term market predictions because in that period the sharemarket is largely driven by sentiment and herd-like behaviour; but investors always need to recognise there are...

AFR Fast Starters 2018

01 Nov 2018

The Australian Financial Review today released the 2018 Fast Starters list. All companies listed started trading after 1 July 2014 and must be Australian-owned to be considered. Fast Starters are ranked by revenue for the most recent year with their growth over the current and previous year noted. Koda Capital made the Fast Starters list...

Tax, Markets and More: Koda Capital

23 Oct 2018

Alan Kohler recently spoke to Koda CEO Paul Heath to find out more about the firm, Paul’s thoughts on where things are at with the markets, what Koda is advising clients to do with their money and how best to structure portfolios for tax. Paul Heath is the CEO and Co-Founder of Koda Capital. The...

Reimagining Charities as Sustainable Businesses

26 Sep 2018

Charities will need to reposition themselves as sustainable social enterprises to be successful in the future, according to a new report. The Koda Capital Snapshot of Australian Giving said the concept of a charitable organisation may need to be reimagined with people becoming less charitable and less trusting of charities. “Not only do many of...

Koda Capital Receives ‘Best Investor Supporting Australian Managers’ Award

13 Sep 2018

At the 2018 Hedge Funds Rock event Koda was recognised as the ‘Best Investor Supporting Australian Managers’. This award was given “in recognition of Koda’s pursuit of finding, researching and supporting good alternative investment managers for clients and undertaking a program of investor education through its adviser network” and was presented to Head of Research...

Banking Royal Commission: The Revolution In Financial Advice

09 Sep 2018

Yet the need for advice will only increase, particularly as a generation of Baby Boomers retires. That market is increasingly likely to be filled by truly independent adviser groups offering more tailored services and at least the promise of higher returns and greater flexibility. The royal commission hearings into insurance starting Monday will no doubt...

Financial Standard Featured Profile on Koda’s Jason Coggins

04 Sep 2018

At Koda Capital, head of research Jason Coggins and the investment team go the extra mile to put clients first. He tells Karren Vergara how they do so in a spirit of being truly independent. In Koda Capital’s Sydney office, a large elephant sculpture greets you in the foyer while figurines of different colours and...

Koda Capital Snaps Up CBA Pair

03 Jul 2018

The hires are just the latest in a growing trend that has seen increasing numbers of high net worth clients and their advisers jumping ship from the big incumbent wealth managers including big four and Wall Street-owned banks to boutique firms.   Private wealth manager Koda Capital has picked up another two advisers for its...

Koda Makes An Impact As Investors Chase Social Returns

26 Feb 2018

“Our clients can build portfolios that reflect not just their financial objectives, but their values and their desire to invest in social and environmental change.” Koda Capital CEO, Paul Heath   Koda Capital has become the first Australian firm of its kind to offer investors the opportunity to make investments that deliberately improve the world. The...

Koda Capital Swoops on JBWere Advisers

08 Feb 2018

“Of course I’m attracted by Koda’s independence, but equally it is about their partnership model, where the owners of the business are in daily contact with clients,” Macindoe told Street Talk.   Koda Capital has poached three of JBWere’s key operatives in a move expected to turbo-charge the boutique wealth advisory firm’s growth. Street Talk...

Koda Capital Poaches Bank of Melbourne Operative

12 Dec 2017

Boutique advisory firm Koda Capital has made another high-profile hire. Street Talk can reveal Koda, chaired by former MLC boss Steve Tucker, has lured across Bank of Melbourne’s head of premium banking and business growth Jonathan Ayres. It is understood Ayres resigned on Monday and will join Koda as managing partner of Victoria. Ayres spent...

AFR Fast Starters 2017

09 Nov 2017

The Australian Financial Review today released the 2017 Fast Starters list. All companies listed started trading after 1 July 2013 and must be Australian-owned to be considered. Fast Starters are ranked by revenue for the most recent year with their growth over the current and previous year noted. Koda Capital debuted in the 2017 list...

On The Edge Of Professionalisation: It’s Time To Make The Leap

20 Jul 2017

Advisers will never be recognised as professionals as long as they are housed inside an institution where product fees subsidise the true costs of advice. Private wealth management is an industry on the verge of becoming a profession. Advisers are highly educated, highly qualified fiduciaries and if compared with a lawyer or accountant, they would...

When Efficiency Becomes The Enemy Of Growth

20 Jun 2017

Is efficiency a friend or an enemy? It has the potential to be both. Leading PWM firms know the line. Advisory firms are facing a conundrum. In addition to managing ongoing regulatory reform, they need to find ways to build their business and revenue, despite being at or near capacity in terms of client numbers....

The New Face, And Heart, Of Wealth

31 May 2017

PWM firms will need to overcome their fear and apathy regarding technology and commit to embracing change. A number of trends are emerging in private wealth management (PWM), driven by profound changes in the demographics and attitudes of wealthy Australians. Arguably the biggest shift is the changing face of wealth in Australia. It is no...

Get Ready For The Future Face Of Wealth Management

17 May 2017

The vertically integrated model championed by Australia’s large financial institutions may have been sufficient for the last 15 years but it will not even exist for the next 15 years – let alone suffice. There are many challenges facing private wealth management in Australia, including subdued economic conditions, equity market volatility, digital disruption, seismic demographic...

Banks Will Have To Choose Between Advice And Product

14 Apr 2017

“The shift is structural, not cyclical. Consumers are driving it. Why would banks continue a vertically integrated system when consumers are deciding not to get product and advice in the same place? There is a big shift towards the independence model.” Banks will continue to own wealth businesses but these are unlikely to include both...

The Future Belongs To Those Who Evolve Alongside Their Clients

17 Feb 2017

In 2016, I tackled the single most important issue affecting my business. It was becoming clear to me that my more financially sophisticated clients were looking for something different in wealth advice. The nature of their needs was changing and I was struggling to be relevant to the most important client segment in my business....

The Profession Predicts: 2017 – The Year Ahead

25 Jan 2017

2017 will be the year when providers of independent advice cross a tipping point and lead the industry towards becoming a true profession. If predictions for what 2017 holds could be summarised in a single phrase, it might be a focus on consumers. Experts hand-picked by Professional Planner to provide their views on what’s in store for...

Effective Workplace Flexibility Is Freedom … With Responsibility

23 Jan 2017

At Koda we value our people. A trust-based culture that allows flexible working is a natural extensions of that. Thinking about allowing your workers to work “flexibly”? Fiona Smith finds out why Australian businesses are leading this trend. Treating employees like grown-ups and allowing them to make responsible decisions about where, when and how they...

Family Leadership Key to Wealth Transfer

18 Jan 2017

“When we spoke to clients, they would explain to us that the instruments of wealth transfer exist – they have wills, trusts and estate plans – but what they lack was that family dynamic.” Wealth advisers could play a critical role in helping clients to work out an effective transfer of wealth to their adult...

The Profession Reflects: 2016 – The Year In Review

15 Dec 2017

Without a doubt 2016 was the year when clients – the real consumers of wealth management – also voted with their feet against business as usual and began looking for alternatives. The year 2016 may be looked back upon as the year in which the foundations for a financial planning profession were finally put in...

Why Banks Are Rethinking Wealth Management

22 Sep 2016

“I think the industry is at an inflection point where independence – and what that represents now – completely changes the model for clients and for advisers and the investment banks, which are typically at the vanguard of this, are exiting.” In 2009, nine of the 10 biggest investment banks operating in Australia owned their own...

Too Much Risk A Danger In Trying To Generate Yield

21 Sep 2016

Chief executive of Koda Capital, Paul Heath, says the question investors should be seeking to answer is how to position portfolios late in a bull cycle. There are few places for wealthy investors to turn to achieve strong returns in a world plagued by uncertainty, low growth and geopolitical concerns. The advice from the experts is not...

Choosing The Right Adviser For Wealthy Individuals

21 Sep 2016

“The worst outcome is when there’s a mismatch between the skills and capability of the adviser and the needs and issues the client faces. If the client has amassed a certain amount of wealth, and the adviser is used to clients who are at risk of not having enough money in retirement, then the sort...

Koda Named Australia’s Best Private Wealth Manager

19 Aug 2016

“In a relatively short period of time, Koda Capital has earned a reputation for providing holistic, strategic client-centric advice to sophisticated, high net worth individuals and families. Koda is an excellent choice for any investor seeking truly independent and thoughtful financial advice.” Koda Capital has been named Australia’s Best Private Wealth Manager by leading national business...

Product Subsidies Stop Financial Advisers Being Viewed As Professionals

17 Aug 2016

This is being driven by clients. Post the global financial crisis, clients are looking for independence and agility. There is a question about whether advisers acted in their clients’ interests or in the interests of the adviser. The subsidising of products and services inside large wealth management companies needs to end before financial planners will be regarded as professionals,...

Sector Should Plan For Philanthropy Surge

29 Jul 2016

Philanthropy is set to transform the wealth management industry.   The marked rise in philanthropy among high net worth Australians, combined with the need for an improved non-profit sector to replace government funding in areas like aged care and social welfare, means philanthropy is set to transform the wealth management industry, according to Koda Capital....

Twelve Blue Chip Stocks Of The Future

17 Jun 2016

Koda’s chief investment officer Brigette Leckie says that she expects the speed at which companies are booted from the index to double; that it will take only five years for the index to turn over the next 250 companies. There’s a saying in stockbroking that goes back decades: “You’ll never get fired for buying IBM.”...

The Banks Consider The True Cost Of Financial Advice

24 May 2016

“Have the institutions tackled the business model that has the product areas subsiding the advice businesses? When they do, will we see the rise of the independent again?” While most voters are not paying much attention to the election campaign, the financial services industry is on high alert. That’s not just because of the tightening...

The Party Has Ended In China – Now For The Hangover

16 Mar 2016

We believe that current volatility in the market is not an over-reaction. Indeed, it is likely to be the defining characteristic of 2016.A rebound in the iron ore price to $US64 a tonne, and rallies in the prices of Australia’s biggest mining stocks have buoyed the hopes of many investors and especially those in BHP Billiton and Rio...

Why the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is a Sign of the Philanthropic Times

04 Feb 2016

Embracing complexity, contradiction and imperfection: Why the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is a sign of the philanthropic times David Knowles contends that the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is a game changer with the potential to completely revise the way we think about philanthropy, charity and how to create social impact, thanks to its big picture approach and...

US Equity Market Concerns See Investors Urged to Identify Index Survivors

20 Jan 2016

Concerns about the challenges facing US shares can be mitigated with careful planning and prudent analysis. The US economy has done the bulk of the heavy lifting this growth cycle, and investors have been accordingly rewarded. The S&P 500 Index is up 244 per cent from the March 2009 lows, and these compare with 185 per...

Partner Route Aligns Koda With Professions

18 Dec 2015

It’s time to step away from conventional thinking that the only way a private advisory business can operate is with revenue from product sources or other areas, and embrace the new model, which is more like a professional services firm than an old financial planning dealership. Establishing a professional partnership model in the tradition of...

Ethical Approach Will Put Advisers Ahead

01 Dec 2015

In our view you can’t regulate for culture – it’s got to be owned by individuals and companies that say we’re going to behave in a particular way. Financial advisers should actively promote an ethical culture within their business rather than waiting for regulators to do it for them, according to professional services and wealth...

Koda To Grow Melbourne Footprint

11 Nov 2015

“For us, having the advisers who have skills and capability in those core client segments that we’re going after is critical, and we’re really happy that people of such high quality have come to Koda and have chosen to be partners with us.” Professional services and wealth management firm Koda Capital is set to expand...

Laying Foundations for Change: The Atlantic Philanthropies in Melbourne

03 Sep 2015

“Chuck is a ‘show me, not tell me’ kind of guy,” Oechsli explained. “We recognise there is great diversity in philanthropy and the idea of these discussions is that we want to share things and help encourage others and explore ways to make a difference in peoples’ lives.” Warren Buffet’s bid to out-do Chuck Feeney’s...

Australian Giving Stagnating – Review

20 Aug 2015

The proportion of Australians claiming a gift or donation is stagnant and remains below the level it reached in 1985-6, according to a report released by independent private wealth advisory business Koda Capital. The proportion of Australians claiming a gift or donation is stagnant and remains below the level it reached in 1985-6, according to...

How Discount SMSF Players Are Clipping Your Ticket

14 Jul 2015

The self-managed super fund industry is being undermined by low-cost platform providers charging hefty commissions and enjoying cosy relationships with the banks, writes James Frost. Heavily discounted platforms for self-managed superannuation funds are being subsidised by complex networks of rebates and commissions that have the potential to undermine users’ retirement savings. The platforms streamline the...

Koda Establishes QLD Presence With UBS Execs

13 Jul 2015

“The idea of independence is a real attraction point as is a model that contains no inherent conflicts of interest,” Heath said, emphasising Koda offered transparency and that was resonating with clients. Sydney-based wealth management firm Koda Capital has bolstered its presence on the eastern seaboard, with two Brisbane advisers soon to join the firm...

Private Equity Founders Bankroll Heath and Tucker’s Koda Capital

03 Jun 2015

Private equity heavyweights are backing former boss of MLC Steve Tucker and ex-JBWere chief executive Paul Heath, who teamed up in late 2014 to form Koda Capital. As the sun sets on traditional retail stockbroking, not everyone is headed for the exits. It’s understood a collection of finance heavyweights are behind recently-formed Koda Capital, buying...

Charities Lose Out With Increasing Risk And Low Rates

27 May 2015

New research conducted by Koda Capital, a boutique private wealth management firm focused on servicing non-profit clients, has found the Australian non-profit sector has seen a drop in investment income of more than $880 million per annum each year since 2011. Falling interest rates are stripping nearly $1 billion per year from the coffers of...

Charity Begins Far From Home: Why Americans Are More Generous Than Australians

15 May 2015

Australia ranks sixth in the Charities Aid Foundation’s world giving index, behind the US, Myanmar, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. The index incorporates donations of money, helping strangers and volunteering time. Bill Gross, the famous American bond king who became rich betting on interest rate shifts, revealed this week that he intended to give away...

Non-Profits Failing To Capitalise On Investments

01 May 2015

Non-profit organisations are missing out on potential investment income by shunning fund managers and allocating large proportions of their capital in cash and deposits, despite the low interest rate environment. Non-profit organisations are missing out on potential investment income by shunning fund managers and allocating large proportions of their capital in cash and deposits, despite...

Fast Growing Wealth Firm Makes Senior Appointments

04 May 2015

“Koda’s unique value proposition, built around independence and a partnership culture, is generating strong interest amongst advisers and clients who are seeking alternatives to existing wealth management models.”

The Impossible Solution for Financial Advice

15 Apr 2015

The focus is on advisers. It always has been. “The institutions don’t want to be in the advice business,” Hewison Private Wealth founder, John Hewison, says. “There’s no money in it.” Well, there must be money in it, otherwise Hewison wouldn’t run a business himself, but his point is one you hear repeated every so...

Two More JBWere Execs Join Koda Capital

17 Mar 2015

“Philanthropic and non-profit advice is one of the core pillars of Koda’s independent, fee-for-service offering and we have started with the best in the field.” Professional services and wealth management firm Koda Capital has grown its overall team to 19 staff, including board members, following its establishment by former National Australia Bank (NAB) executives Paul...

Two New Operators Set to Challenge Advice Models

10 Mar 2015

As the Australian financial services industry starts to sputter to life after five years of product, distribution and strategy stagnation, two separate bets on growth are starting to emerge among the new financial services business. This means that if you are starting to think about how to invest money or entering the financial advice market for the...

New Private Wealth Management Firm Announces Two Key Appointments

03 Mar 2015

“We are delighted that two of the country’s top private wealth advisers are joining us to provide advice which is independent and completely free of conflicts of interest.” New private wealth management firm Koda Capital has announced the appointment of two key advisers to its fast growing team. Koda Capital was established late last year...

Steve Tucker: New-Generation Firms Set New Benchmarks for Financial Planning Businesses

28 Jan 2015

It is an empowered consumer who will demand change. This shift will be evident in the birth and subsequent growth of a new generation of advisory firms. The future firm will be independent of the vested interests of the financial institutions – both in ownership structure and product range offered. The financial planning and wealth...

Has The Era Of The Major Professional Services Firm Dawned In Financial Planning?

15 Dec 2015

 A puzzling feature of the financial services landscape is that large-scale professional services firms, like those found in law or accounting, don’t exist the same way in financial planning. A puzzling feature of the financial services landscape is that large-scale professional services firms, like those found in law or accounting, don’t exist the same way...

Steve Tucker: The World Is Not Flat And The Market Will Solve Advice Conflicts

12 Dec 2014

The reality is, in my view, that the market itself will provide the solution…most importantly, we will see the emergence of a new style, independent professional services firm. As various governments and regulators have struggled to create the right settings to ensure clients receive the best advice from financial planners and advisors, it seems to...

Koda Rings Independent Bell On Financial Advice

11 Dec 2014

Steve Tucker’s choice of former JBWere chief executive Paul Heath as CEO of their new independent advisory group Koda Capital, represents what may be a ringing of the bell on the “vertically integrated”, bank-dominated tied model of financial advice.   It was only a matter of time before Steve Tucker, the man who abolished commissions...

Ex NAB Wealth Bosses Going It Alone

11 Dec 2014

Former NAB Wealth executives Steve Tucker and Paul Heath have launched Koda Capital, an investment and financial advice company they say will offer commission-free independent advice. The firm’s target client base will be high net worth individual, families and charitable foundations. Heath, a former chief executive officer of JBWere, will become Koda’s CEO, while Tucker...

Steve Tucker, Paul Heath Launch Koda Capital

11 Dec 2014

The former boss of MLC Steve Tucker and ex-JBWere chief executive Paul Heath have teamed up to launch their own private wealth group, Koda Capital. The two wealth veterans have secured funding from private equity players, and Koda is hoping to woo high net worth individuals, families and not-for-profit organisations to use its services. The...

Finance Heavyweights Steve Tucker, Paul Heath Set Up Own Advice Shop

10 Dec 2014

The financial advisory system in Australia had worked well over the decades despite those shortcomings, he [Steve Tucker] said, but the market was now moving strongly in favour of advice that unequivocally put the interests of the client ahead of any other consideration. Steve Tucker and Paul Heath, who until recently were respectively chief executive...

Steve Tucker and Paul Heath Launch HNW Business

10 Dec 2014

The challenges facing the private wealth profession today have been well documented.  The profession can’t rely on regulation to rebuild trust; the market itself needs to take responsibility for this. Former MLC chief executive Steve Tucker and former JBWere chief executive Paul Heath have launched a new private wealth management firm, Koda Capital. Privately funded...

Koda Capital Opens Its Doors

10 Dec 2014

As we considered the landscape of wealth advice, we saw a gap – that of an independent, high quality firm, staffed by experienced professionals that serve clients in a manner completely free of the conflicts of interest which exist in many firms.   Finance industry veterans Steve Tucker and Paul Heath have launched their new...

No Peace in Financial Advice Wars

20 Nov 2014

“One of Cormann’s most senior superiors recently told me: ‘We need to separate financial advice from big institutions.’ At the very least, we have to comprehensively eradicate conflicts between advisers and clients.” In true Terminator style, Mathias Cormann’s contentious wind-back of Labor’s Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) laws refuses to die. About two minutes after...

Good Returns From New Sector

30 Sep 2014

It’s the new wave of investment, which threatens to turn the world of ­philanthropy on its head, by a simple switch of focus: to apply the same ­models for ­success in philanthropic endeavours as are applied to business. It’s the new wave of investment, which threatens to turn the world of ­philanthropy on its head,...

Lure of the Independent Market Sees Fortress Under Siege

01 Sep 2014

“Institutions exert enormous control – through direct ownership or other commercial relationships – over vast swathes of Australia’s financial ­planning businesses.” Financial planning in Australia began as a “cottage industry”, a village of mainly small-to-medium dwellings occupying the virgin territory carved out by the swashbuckling financial deregulators of the 1980s. More than two decades later,...

ASIC Targets Banking Staff

25 Aug 2015

“The corporate regulator is seeking tougher powers to allow it to take action against bank managers when their financial planners dupe customers.” The corporate regulator is seeking tougher powers to allow it to take action against bank managers when their financial planners dupe customers. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission wants legal changes to allow...

Credibility Gap Not Closing For Financial Advisers

08 Aug 2014

“The financial services industry and successive governments all happily agree more people should get financial advice. But what if the financial advice is lousy? What if the result is that many clients would have been better off without it?” The financial services industry and successive governments all happily agree more people should get financial advice....

Super Fees Too High, Advice Poor

16 Jul 2014

“David Murray has launched a stinging attack on the country’s massive wealth management industry, criticising the high level of fees and the poor quality of financial advice.” David Murray has launched a stinging attack on the country’s massive wealth management industry, criticising the high level of fees and the poor quality of financial advice. The...

Tucker Says Future of Advice is Independent

04 Jun 2014

“The theme of independence is emerging very strongly.” Former MLC veteran Steve Tucker has re-emerged in his first financial services industry role since departing National Australia Bank more than a year ago – and has declared: “It probably won’t be the last.” Listed broker Euroz said on Tuesday that Mr Tucker, who ran NAB’s wealth...